CreatureData

Swallow-tailed gull

Creagrus furcatus (Néboux, 1842)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 687 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus)
Photo: Marc Figueras ( Oersted ) · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the swallow-tailed gull

Weight
687 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.24 m – 1.39 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
32.7 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the swallow-tailed gull?

SWALLOW-TAILED GULL · WINGSPAN 1.39 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.39 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the swallow-tailed gull is about 82% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the swallow-tailed gull

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the swallow-tailed gull live?

Not recorded

What is the swallow-tailed gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the hooked bill of this species. It was first described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1846. Its scientific name is originally derived from the Greek word for gull, "Glaros" and via Latin Larus, "gull" and furca "two-tined fork". It spends most of its life flying and hunting over the open ocean. The main breeding location is in the Galápagos Islands, particularly the rocky shores and cliffs of Hood, Tower and Wolf Islands, with lower numbers on most of the other islands. It is more common on the eastern islands where the water is warmer.

It is the only fully nocturnal gull and seabird in the world, preying on squid and small fish which rise to the surface at night to feed on plankton.

From the Wikipedia article “Swallow-tailed gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swallow-tailed_gull&oldid=1384730575), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the swallow-tailed gull endangered?

The swallow-tailed gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the swallow-tailed gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusCreagrus
  7. SpeciesCreagrus furcatus (Néboux, 1842)

Synonyms Larus furcatus

Other names and names in other languages (47)
  • نورس متفرع الذيلArabic
  • Галапагоска чайкаBulgarian
  • Gouelan ar GalápagosBreton
  • Gouelan lost-gwenniliBreton
  • gavineta cuaforcadaCatalan
  • Gavina de cua bifurcadaCatalan
  • Gavineta cua de tisoraCatalan
  • racek galapážskýCzech
  • Gwylan y GalapagosWelsh
  • SvalehalemågeDanish
  • GabelschwanzmöweGerman
  • forkvosta mevoEsperanto
  • Forkovosta mevoEsperanto
  • Hirundvosta mevoEsperanto
  • Gaviota tijeretaSpanish
  • Gaviota de GalápagosSpanish
  • Gaviota de las GalápagosSpanish
  • öökajakasEstonian
  • کاکایی دمچلچلهایPersian
  • yölokkiFinnish
  • Mouette à queue fourchueFrench
  • שחף זנב סנוניתHebrew
  • galapagoski galebCroatian
  • fecskefarkú sirályHungarian
  • SvölumáfurIcelandic
  • Gabbiano coda di rondineItalian
  • アカメカモメJapanese
  • akamekamomeJapanese
  • 제비꼬리갈매기Korean
  • galapaginis kirasLithuanian
  • галапагоски галебMacedonian
  • Tónteel tsídii bitseeʼ deeshgizhígííNavajo
  • zwaluwstaartmeeuwDutch
  • svalestjertmåkeNorwegian
  • mewa widłosternaPolish
  • gaivota-rabo-de-andorinhaPortuguese
  • Gaivota-do-rabo-de-andorinhaPortuguese
  • Галапагосская чайкаRussian
  • čajka lastovičiaSlovak
  • Rašljorepi galebSerbian
  • svalstjärtad måsSwedish
  • Kırlangıç Kuyruklu MartıTurkish
  • мартин галапагоськийUkrainian
  • Ластівкохвостий мартинUkrainian
  • Mòng biển đuôi nhạnVietnamese
  • 燕尾鷗Chinese
  • 燕尾鸥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the swallow-tailed gull

Other species in the same family Laridae.

CompareSwallow-tailed gull vs Black-headed gullSwallow-tailed gull vs European herring gullSwallow-tailed gull vs Common gullSwallow-tailed gull vs Common tern

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the swallow-tailed gull?

An adult swallow-tailed gull weighs 687 g and has a wingspan of 1.24 m – 1.39 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the swallow-tailed gull endangered?

The swallow-tailed gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the swallow-tailed gull?

The swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/swallow-tailed-gull

MLA

“Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/swallow-tailed-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{swallow_tailed_gull_2026,
  title = {Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/swallow-tailed-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}